Carabao Cup: Chelsea 6 Middlesbrough 1 (6-2 on aggregate)
If it was a reminder of the way things used to be at Chelsea it was also possible to see this triumph as the start of them marching towards a brighter future. The first major final of the post-Abramovich era beckons and, for owners as derided as Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, there must be something satisfying about evidence of their grand youth project finally showing signs of coming together.
This was a total mismatch, Middlesbrough blown away during a torrid first half, Stamford Bridge alive at last. After 18 months of turbulence, Chelsea delighted in cutting loose and turning this Carabao Cup semi-final into a demolition. Mauricio Pochettino, the coach charged with making sense of all the spending, could relax. Chelsea, who once made reaching cup finals look routine, were never in danger.
They relished the chance to put things right after their insipid performance during the first leg. Skulking around his technical area, sometimes shaking his head whenever he detected a drop in the tempo, Pochettino must have found positives in his team’s attitude. There was calm instead of immaturity, poise rather than imprecision, and it soon became clear that ‘Boro would have to produce one of the greatest underdog displays if they were to reach the final of this competition for the first time since winning it in 2004.
Michael Carrick had spoken about the importance of ‘Boro not sitting on their advantage. The reality, of course, was that they are 11th in the Championship and have a heaving treatment room. It summed up their misfortune that Isaiah Jones, who tormented Chelsea at the Riverside, was unavailable to line up on the right.
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Chelsea’s long list of absentees felt irrelevant for once. Pochettino still had room to indulge in a couple of tactical tweaks. He wanted to overwhelm ‘Boro, to make it impossible for them to settle into a low block, and his decision to drop Conor Gallagher paid off. It was much easier for Chelsea to stretch the play with Mykhailo Mudryk and the outstanding Raheem Sterling on the wings, Cole Palmer behind Armando Broja and Enzo Fernández pushing forward from midfield.
Just as influential was Ben Chilwell in his first start as a left-back this season. Chelsea have missed his driving runs from deep. Indeed, it is strange to think that Pochettino often used him as a left winger at the start of the season. Chilwell, finally back from a hamstring injury, was determined to prove that he belongs in a back four.
Wearing the armband inspired the England international. Chilwell was sharp, snapping into challenges, almost giving Chelsea the lead when he beat Tom Glover to a long ball and headed wide. He was baffled to be penalised for a foul on the Boro goalkeeper. Chelsea were more aggressive and Boro struggled to respond.
Moments later Chilwell won possession in midfield, danced into space and slid the ball to Sterling, who drew Glover before finding Broja. Jonny Howson, desperately scrambling back, only succeeded in prodding the ball into his own net as he challenged the striker.
‘Boro tried to hit back, Morgan Rogers drawing a save from Djordje Petrovic after a clever short corner, but Chelsea were unmoved. They attacked again and were ahead on aggregate when Sterling’s backheel gave Axel Disasi the chance to surge forward from right-back. Overrun and outclassed, ‘Boro were powerless to stop Disasi from presenting Fernández with an easy finish.
The visitors unravelled. Disasi intercepted a poor pass from Matt Clarke. Palmer combined with Sterling, who sent Disasi through to make it 3-0 with an emphatic finish. ‘Boro were done. Their discipline evaporated and it was not long before Palmer strolled through after another defensive howler, rolling the ball onto his left foot before placing the ball beyond Glover.
Carrick knew the damage was beyond repair. ‘Boro’s shape was odd, their ploy of Howson dropping back from midfield into defence causing confusion and leaving Fernández and Moisés Caicedo with too much space. Chelsea ran riot.
They settled into an easy groove after half-time. Pochettino even seemed to take mercy on Lukas Engel, who had taken a battering at left-back, by switching Sterling to the opposite flank. If Engel was feeling relieved about not having to deal with Sterling, though, it must have been tempered by the sight of Noni Madueke running at him after coming on for Mudryk. There was always the sense that Chelsea were capable of scoring again if they fancied.
So it proved when Gallagher danced down the left after coming off the bench and cut the ball back for Palmer to finish first time. Having fought hard in the second half, ‘Boro faded. There was still time for Madueke to cut inside and curl home. Chelsea could dream of facing Liverpool or Fulham at Wembley. A fine late strike from Rogers would not dampen the mood.
- Guardian
